Publication date: 21st July 2025
Plants and algae provide a natural example of how solar energy can be converted into chemical energy in the presence of oxygen while preventing photodamage. It has now been established that plants and algae prevent photooxidation by activating a rapidly inducible and reversible photoprotective mechanism at the level of their light-harvesting complexes. However, the precise activation process of this photoprotective mechanism remains unknown. I will here introduce our current understanding of how light-harvesting is regulated in plants and algae and, more generally, in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. I will then highlight the spectroscopic and computational tools under development by our recently-established group at ICFO, aimed at unraveling the molecular mechanisms governing the activation of photoprotection in photosynthetic organisms – in real time.
Understanding both the mechanism and the rate at which plants can activate or deactivate photoprotection may provide answers to long-standing open questions in the fields of biophysics and physical chemistry. This knowledge will also be instrumental in inspiring new studies focused on maximizing plant productivity through the optimization of photoprotective responses.